Sabor a Mexico, Another New Local “Joint”…And This One Healthy!

Posted by Tony & Cheri on June 2, 2010

Update 9/5/10: We’re sorry to say that this little gem of a restaurant is now closed, another apparent victim of the drop in tourism. We wish Karmen the best of luck in future endeavors and sure hope she opens another restaurant at some point in the future.

We had the pleasure of eating lunch yesterday at a new spot on the other end of town from us, but one we’re sure to return to again. It’s called Sabor a Mexico. Located on Calle 4 between Avenidas 20 & 25 (a block from Kalaka, another of our favorite spots), it’s a few blocks out of the tourist zone, but worth the stroll.

Owned by a beautiful and energetic young woman named Karmen, Sabor a Mexico looks like many small Mexican eateries, but cuter and cleaner. We were introduced to Karmen over the phone by our friend Mayte (former owner of Bloody Chicas & current owner of local favorite watering hole El Bar) when we were trying to find someone to cater a private event we’re having in a couple of weeks. We decided to stop by Karmen’s restaurant and see if her food is as good as Mayte said it was.

Happily, we weren’t disappointed. Sabor a Mexico was opened by Karmen about four months ago and features food from central Mexico. What makes this spot different from many others is Karmen’s focus on her dishes. As she explained, her food is “saludable” or healthy. She uses a minimum of fat in her cooking and very little pork. Everything is prepared with a focus on healthy eating–or as healthy as Mexican food can be. 🙂

We both decided to try the comida del dia, or meal of the day. This sort of eating is often also called “comida corrida” and generally consists of a complete meal including starter, entree and beverage (and sometimes dessert) for one price. Sabor a Mexico‘s comida del dia started with a chicken noodle soup followed by our choice of four entrees and included rice, beans, tortillas and unlimited fruit water (first lemonade then later jamaica). Tony had the meatball soup, and Cheri had the picadillo de res. Both were delicious and obviously fresh and well-prepared. We ate a full meal yet walked away not feeling completely stuffed like we normally do after a Mexican meal. And the price of our lunch was only $90 pesos–about $7 US–for both of us. There are cocktails on 5th Avenue that cost more than that! There were other items on the menu as well that we’ll likely try our next time there.

After lunch we talked with Karmen a bit about what she could do for us for the event. She described some of her other specialties, was extremely organized, took notes, and said she would call us the next day with a price quote. She showed up at the hotel this morning with a list of all the different dishes she suggested as well as a “presupuesto” (or quote) that was very reasonable. She seemed like she’d been doing this forever, but when we asked if she had done an event like this before, she said it was her first, but that she had two more events later in the month. We were very happy, told her she had a deal and said we’d talk in a few days.

It was a delight to find such a pleasant little spot owned by someone who clearly cares about good food and good health.

Sabor a Mexico is open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm. We’ll be returning soon to try breakfast.

If you’re looking for healthy but delicious food prepared with care, check out Sabor a Mexico.